What about birch? It might seem like birch has had its day, but that’s not quite true. Being a rather common choice for hardwood flooring, a birch kitchen floor can be helpful when you want to draw the eye somewhere else. It will give you that durability while keeping itself in the background.

If you don’t like the pointy shape of the blind corner pull-outs we just showed you, there are alternatives and a lot of them avoid those 90 degree angles in favor of a more cohesive and fluid design. This eclectic kitchen shows just how practical this design direction can be. This diagonal cabinet includes drawers at the bottom, room for the microwave oven other small appliances above the counter and some open space at the top. There’s even some counter space left too.